We have reached the point in the season where, on an annual basis, the team that holds the No. 1 ranking in those silly news-service polls inevitably loses after ascending to that spot (sorry, Louisville). Then comes the just-as-annual lament that there are “no dominant teams.”

Remember when North Carolina lost two of its first three conference games in 2008-09? Probably not, because what you remember is the Tar Heels crushing their NCAA Tournament opponents like merlot grapes.

Remember when Syracuse lost at Notre Dame last season and no longer held an unbeaten record? No dominant teams, right? Except Kentucky was right there waiting to pick up the No. 1 ranking, and the Wildcats kept building toward dominance until they’d claimed the school’s eighth national title.

You may remember Indiana finished unbeaten in 1976, the last perfect NCAA champion. But the Hoosiers won their first Big Ten road game by only a basket over Ohio State, and in mid-January the Hoosiers only won by four at home over Purdue. Wonder if they were saying then: no dominant team.

Dominant teams are not revealed in January. They are revealed in March.

They are built in January. In ’76 Indiana’s case, the Hoosiers were built on their narrow escapes. With the ’09 Tar Heels, it was the misery of unfulfilled potential that drove them to reach for excellence. Is Michigan a dominant team? We haven’t seen enough of the Wolverines under pressure to be sure. Is Indiana? Not at the moment, but the Hoosiers could be. Louisville? The Cards will need a greater sense of identity on offense. Arizona? The young bigs have to grow up fast.

Each of these teams will have to meet its own challenges as the season advances. Perhaps none will become a dominant team; perhaps none of the competitors for the NCAA title will. What we should be looking for now, though, is not which team is No. 1 but which potential No. 1 team is working most ardently to address its own issues. No one really remembers who is ranked in January. There’s a reason for that.

Long weekend

Here’s an idea: Practice up for your March Madness viewing by cutting out of work a bit early Monday and gorging on ESPN’s Martin Luther King Day quadrupleheader.

In the course of one day, you can see Cincy’s Sean Kilpatrick, Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams, OK State’s Marcus Smart and ND’s Jack Cooley.

And, if you’re lucky enough to actually get this day off, you don’t even have to call in sick.

Desperate times

Two teams that are getting an early dose of the desperation that arrives for most teams in February have enormous weeks ahead of them.

After a strong non-league performance that included a championship at the Charleston Classic and a win over in-state rival Colorado State—and after a Pac-12 start that seemed to include a victory over Arizona but ultimately did not—the Colorado Buffaloes stand ninth in the conference and actually are looking up at Southern California in the standings. The Trojans, you may recall, fired their coach last week.

CU has NCAA potential, but not if it doesn’t start winning games, pronto. Here is that chance, and you can watch Thursday if you’re willing to stay up late: Stanford (11-7, 2-3) at Colorado (12-6, 2-4), 10 p.m., on ESPNU. If the Buffs can get that one, Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. meeting with California might seem more relaxing.

After a raging start that included a Maui Invitational title, Illinois is another desperate team. The Fighting Illini will lose their poll ranking this week, but winning at Nebraska (Tuesday, 8:30, BTN) and home Sunday against Michigan (6 p.m., BTN) might restore some of the luster. But it’s hard to imagine that happening if the Illini (14-5, 1-4 Big Ten) don’t get some shots to drop. Necessarily perimeter oriented because of a lack of size, they were 8-of-58 on three-point attempts—13.8 percent, folks—in losing three consecutive Big Ten games.

Game to watch

No. 24 UCLA (15-4, 5-1 Pac-12) at No. 7 Arizona (16-1, 4-1), Thursday 9 p.m., ESPN2. The Bruins took a bit of the shine off this one by losing at home to Oregon. With the Wildcats having previously fallen to the Ducks on the road, that means neither of these teams enter the showdown with even a piece of first place in the Pac-12. That going to stop anyone from watching? The most interesting aspect of the game will be whether the young Arizona bigs – Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley and Grant Jerrett—can take advantage of UCLA’s leaky inside defense. Oregon’s Tony Woods, whose best previous conference game was 4-of-7 shooting, went 8-of-9 against the Bruins. Even in an impressive win over Arizona State, the Wildcats’ freshman trio finished 2-of-11.

Matchup to watch

Kansas wing Travis Releford vs. Kansas State wing Rodney McGruder, Tuesday 8 p.m. ESPN3. Following a balky transition to new coach Bruce Weber’s motion offense, McGruder now is playing it like a virtuoso. In Big 12 play, he is averaging 21.5 points and shooting 53.2 percent from the field. When KU faced Ohio State, also a team largely dependent on a single star, Releford locked up Deshaun Thomas and held him to 4-of-11 shooting and 16 points.

Rivalry to watch

North Carolina (12-5, 2-2 ACC) at No. 14 North Carolina State (14-3, 3-1), Saturday 7 p.m., ESPN. If the game is anywhere near as intense as the message-board sniping that’s passed back-and-forth between fans of the two programs as a result of UNC’s academic scandal, it’ll be must-see TV. This one, however, goes beyond the typical animosity of a rivalry to the fact the Tar Heels are fighting to show they are NCAA-worthy and the Pack are in the early stages of trying to win their first ACC title in a generation.

Hidden game to watch

Denver (11-7, 7-1 WAC) at New Mexico State (12-8, 6-2), Wednesday 11 p.m., ESPNU. How hidden is this game? Goodness, who even knows that Denver is playing in the WAC now, let alone that the Pioneers are running a strong second in the league behind Louisiana Tech? For a team that opened its season 1-4, riding a seven-game winning streak is not a bad place to be. Also, it’s worth nothing the Pioneers are one of the few teams to shift leagues in recent seasons whose new home (the WESTERN Athletic Conference) makes more sense than its old one (the SUN Belt).